Opinion Editorials, May 2009

10 Pakistanis Killed by US Drone, 200 Killed by Pakistani Army

 May 10, 2009

TV: U.S. drone attack kills 10 in Pakistan's tribal region

2009-05-09 17:23:58  

    ISLAMABAD, May 9 (Xinhua) --

Up to ten persons were killed in suspected U.S. drone attack in Pakistan's tribal region on Saturday, private TV channel Geo reported.

    Suspected U.S. drones fired four missiles at a house and a Madrassa (school) at Sararogha area of South Waziristan, a tribal area bordering Afghanistan, said the report.

    Local people pulled eight bodies out of the rubble. Seven others were injured and two of them later died of wounds in hospital.

    Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan have seen missile attacks conducted by suspected U.S. drones based in Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly protested against the drone attacks and called for an end to them, terming the attacks "counter-productive" in the fight against terrorism in the country.

Editor: Lin Liyu

Pakistan claims 200 Taliban slain

May 10, 2009 at 11:26 AM

MINGORA, Pakistan, May 10 (UPI) --

Pakistani military leaders Sunday said 200 alleged Taliban fighters were killed during a one-day period in the Swat and Shangla districts.

An army statement said at least two soldiers were killed while another died of wounds he suffered earlier, CNN reported. The statement also said an unspecified number of civilians were slain by the Taliban.

"Indiscriminate mortar firing and planting of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in the streets and roads by the miscreants in the populated areas of Thana, Malakand and Mingora, resulted into civilian casualties," the statement said.

Sunday's fighting came after Pakistani officials eased a civilian curfew overnight, allowing residents to flee. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimated150,000 to 200,000 civilians had fled the scene of the fighting in the North-West Frontier Province, with another 300,000 either moving or expected to flee.

With government forces using helicopter gunships, tanks and artillery to attack alleged Taliban fighters, "massive displacement" of civilians is likely, a U.N. spokesman said.

Pakistan encourages civilians to flee Swat

Published: May 9, 2009 at 11:56 PM

MINGORA, Pakistan, May 9 (UPI) --

The Pakistani government urged civilians to flee the Swat Valley, lifting a curfew to make evacuation possible as the Army takes on the alleged Taliban fighters.

Officials said civilians would be given seven hours, beginning at 6 a.m. Sunday, to get out of the valley, the BBC reported. Thousands of people were believed to be trapped by the fighting.

The government agreed in February to allow the Taliban to impose Shari'a law in the Swat Valley. Taliban advances into neighboring areas closer to the capital led to the current offensive.

In a full-scale offensive Friday, Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said, Pakistan's army killed at least 143 alleged Taliban fighters in a 24-hour period, Karachi News.Net reported.

"We are feeling so helpless. We want to go but can't as there is a curfew," Sallahudin Khan, a resident of Mingora, Swat's main city, said in a telephone interview with Dawn, an English-language newspaper in Karachi.

Khan and his family tried to flee Friday but the roads out of Mingora were jammed with refugees, Dawn reported Saturday.

An estimated 200,000 civilians tried to flee Friday, joining another 300,000 who had already left, U.N. officials said.

The Pakistani army has deployed an estimated 15,000 troops to roust 4,000 to 5,000 Taliban militants in Swat.

"In my area, there is no government, it's all Taliban," said Ibrahim Khan, a farmer in Matta town. "They are in full control."

Army: about 200 militants killed in NW Pakistan

2009-05-10 18:16:32  

·During the last 24 hours, security forces killed 190 to 210 militants in NW Pakistan. ·The military accused militants of indiscriminate mortar firing and planting of IEDs. ·A statement said militants also destroyed two schools at Barikot and Maniar.

    ISLAMABAD, May 10 (Xinhua) --

During the last 24 hours, security forces killed as many as 190 to 210 militants in Swat and Shangla in northwestern Pakistan, according to a statement by the army Sunday.

    The military statement said that reportedly 50 to 60 militants were killed Sunday in Swat and that reportedly 140 to 150 militants were killed at the Banai Baba training camp in Shangla.

    The military accused militants of indiscriminate mortar firing and planting of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the streets and roads in the populated areas of Swat, resulting into civilian casualties.

    "The security forces have warned the citizens to remain vigilant and careful as the militants have planted IEDs in various areas of Mingora city and district Swat to put the blame of civilian causalities onto security forces," it said.

    It said that militants also destroyed two schools at Barikot and Maniar.

    Curfew in Swat was relaxed from 0600 (0000GMT) to 1500 (0900GMT) Sunday, it added.

    The statement said that the offensives also continued in Lower Dir and Buner districts in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), inflicting casualties on the militants.